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Kansas Hospital Association asks for EDIF funding to upskill clinical staff; proposes $2 million training grant program
Summary
The Kansas Hospital Association urged the committee to fund a statewide training grant modeled on a manufacturing upskilling program to let hospitals and long‑term care providers train staff on tasks such as saline locks; the association requested $2 million but said $1 million would be an acceptable starter amount
Tara Mays, testifying for the Kansas Hospital Association, asked the committee to consider a Commerce‑administered training grant modeled on an existing industrial training program. The proposal would let hospitals and long‑term care providers partner regionally to bring trainers on site for focused clinical upskilling — for example, training lab technicians to place saline locks — to reduce reliance on contract staffing and stretch clinical resources.
Mays said the association’s request mirrors the industrial KIT CARE program and asked for $2,000,000 from EDIF to launch a statewide program; she told the committee the association would accept $1,000,000 to get the program started given current budget constraints. “Functionally, what the program would do is it would allow that hospital in Jewell County…to partner with the long‑term care industry…find 10 to 20 people in the North Central Kansas area that want to be trained,” Mays said, describing a one‑day trainer model that could serve multiple rural facilities.
Committee members asked clarifying questions. Representative Curtis asked whether the funding would be statewide; Mays confirmed it would. Representative Long asked whether the program could reduce agency nursing costs; Mays said the hospitals spend “a tremendous amount” on contract staffing and that local training could lower those costs and create savings. Representative Carlin noted the budget page in committee materials showed an enhancement request for $1,000,000; Mays said the association’s initial ask was $2,000,000 but that $1,000,000 could launch the program.
Mays said the program would be flexible in delivery — on‑site training in hospitals or long‑term care settings or partnering with community colleges for simulated training — and that the association had not identified an existing Kansas provider that could meet immediate demand in every region. She asked the committee to consider EDIF as the funding source. The committee did not take a vote during this hearing.
